New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-05-30
MORE BARRELS BURNED UP.
Arrested FOR STARTING BIG FIRES.


rxcyNpIARY ORIGIN lone LIFE Losi.
saturday and Yesterday were two days that 'le
s,omen of Williamsburg and Brooklyn proper
Ill, not forget for some time Hardly had 'Iey
.,rnea in to take q rest after their long anu
savere ficht with the fire that destro9eu eno i
trick building at kcnt-ave. ana Nor'h ri'"' ',
S-..od hv Hayemeyer and Elder and occupied
nr,ncnally by l.. NJ. Palmer as cooperaee
q orc house, when they were called ouV again "
s,r,gc,e with fire that threatened 70 oestroS .i'
..rr.ense building lust across the street nom 0he
s,ructure burned on Saturday nght' aso oMheu
ond occupied conformity by Havemeyer O. Ei"er
ond r. NJ. Palmer. Yesterdays nrc was hoO ~
dossrctiye as that on Saturday mghI puo .no
loss will amount 10 from sloo,ooo 10 si'O'VOO'
na,fially if not wholly covered py insurance. Ine
loss on both fires may reach sooV,ooo VI S1V
rro fireman was badly injured yesterday ana
sovo,,,l others were slightly hurt. The fears 'hat
tho watcbman James Dreary was burned to death
or yot,,rdav niyht were confirmed by his failure
To return to his home,
uyn two fires are supposed to have been oi
,ncepdary origin, and last night Augustus Johnson
n former employe of the owner OF the coopelaee
factory was arrested ON q charge OF arson
The structure burned yesterday is pare OIL an
immense double building which fIonls IN hehu-aNe'
has Mytneave at its back, and Is bounded D!
North Fourth and North Fifth sts The parU
DESTROYED yesterday faces kenl-ave', WIN iroiV-
age OF 200 feet, and it runs back ABOUT loo iec''
where il is seIaraed from The Larger building pS
passageway about twenty-five 1eet "iae' ,,iid dhiS
passageYay probably saved the resV vi 0N0 '''>'
IN, from being burned. -, ,,,na
layemeyer & Elder use half of the larger build
ing The side in North Fourthst., as slfpIe ior
the sugar works, and Mr. Palmer occupies tiie
other half as q coOperage factory Tor sugar paiTeH.
uhe wing destroyed yesterday was three stories
high, and of brick. The building was Won
stocked on the second and third floors WIN paleis
and materials while the ground floor was nllcd
with machinery and materials. All the materials
were seasoned in the kiln which stands III lnc
1car of the destroyed building, separated Hoh ~
by the passaCeWay.
The store house fire was under control about z
o'clock yesterday morning, when a large number
of the fremen relieved from duty four
engines however, were kept playing on the smoul-
dering ruins. During the fire in the coopelage
store house every precautlon had been taken TO
prevent the factory from taking fire. streams OF
water. were thrown upon the walls constantly ana
of ruins waichmen patrolled the floors OF
the factory. About 1:15 D. M. a man notlcsa
sheet of flames shoot up thr3nsh the rOoi %1 n tn te
minutes the structure was sheet OF names ana III
half an hour part of the wall in North Fourth-st.
Alarm after alarm was sounded until all the tired
fremen who had left the scene Just few hours pc
fore on the grounds again some OF t9e hn nfe,
on duty since IL o'clock on saturday night
Int they fOught as sovs,sc we anS Ss the fe
men made efforts once to prevent the flames from
spreading. Lines of hose were run through the WIN
dows of the larger buildings in the rear. and the
fire was vigorously attacked from that quarter;
There were grave fears that the flames would De
communicated to the larger structure, through
the kiln by tine 1%s the is"e
Of the conflict remained in doubt The walls tel
here and there with tremendous crash: flIty cv
first like the side Of card house, Then portion
of the wall in North Fifth-st fell. sending bricks
and stones in all directions -
Patrick Travers, engineer of Engine No. -, was
sitting on his engine close 10 the walls IN flftl-st
near Kent-ave, when they fell lie did not nave tine
10 heed the warning and the wall topped over on
him and his engine. He managed 10 duck under
his engine IN time TO escape instant death, but Two
of his left ribs were broken and It is feared that he
has received internal injuries. The engine was
complete wreck. Travers was taken to st. Catha
rines Hospital. Policeman Edwards, of the Fifth
Precinct rushed to help 1rave1s and was also
There was no wind blowing. fortunately OF the
flames would have been swept across the street ahd
enveloped large dlslilery. So In the course OF
two hours of hard fighting the hremen managed 10
hold the fire IN check. The front wall. which ex-
tended 200 feet in Kent-ave, crumbled DOVE
debris The rear wall gave IN later;
At o'clock the fire was completely under control
and number of the tired fremen were relieved
The fire undoubtedly caught from the flames
known. 1t Is supposed that sparks flew through
one of the windows on the Ffth-st. side.
Detective Martin Short, of the Fifth Brooklyn
upon complaint of Lowell NJ. Palmer, who CHARGED
him, with arson in setting on hre e.nns one
Johnson J 1Sn is is t twenty-seven years old and a
cooper by trade, but he has not worked Iaiey az
Pamer's cooperage His home Is at NO " hut.
ledge-st. 1t thought that he had grudge against
Mr. Palmer for fancied ill treatment and that ne
set the buildings on fire in order TO revenge himself
careful investigation of the case Will be made oy
the Fire Marshal and the police. Mr.. Palmer sai1
last evening that Johnson had been discharged
from his employ, but he refused to say anything
more about the matter for fear of defeating the
After further investigation last evening Fire
Marshal Lewis decided that both fires were OF IN
Ccndiary origin At the time OF the strikes IN the
sugar reineries in Brooklyn last year there was
trouble with the men employed at Mr. PameTs
coOperage, and they tried 10 compel him 10 agree
not to furnish sugar barrels TO Havemeyer q
Elder, for whom he did most OF the cooperlng.
This he refused to do and the men would have
struck had not the factory been closed in conse-
quenco OF lack of demand for barrels as the sugar
r,fneries did practically nothing. A woman who
lives uear the burned buildings told the police that
she saw Johnson 20 into them and that the flames
followed soon after he came out.
Palmers cooperage is said to have been one Of
the largest in the country. Between 500 aud 900
hands employed and 10000 barrels of all
kinds day were turned out. Mr. Palmer said
Yesterdays fire, because he did not know the num-
Der of barrels stored in that building. ont he gave
some estimates on saturdays . hre he nad IN
the storehouse on one floor $4,000
or 10000 sugar barrels all new
worth for:y-one cents apiece; 100000
slaves for sugar barrels worth SIS thousand, and
d 600 or g. 600 rum molasses and hOgshead shocks
He was INSURED for 100000 or $4,000 on all the
stock in the freight building. and as common
carrier he was insured for over $4,000 roihDg
stock and freight for $4,000 or 500, 900 He
thought that the total "a loss 20 would r te ABOUT
The Chicago Dressed Beef Company lost about
$1,000 or $4,000. Five empty cars
worth $1,000 each were burned and also
one loaued with beef. Mr.. Havemeyer couId not
estimate the loss on the buildings.
The watchman John Dreary. discovered the hrst
fire and hurried the street to give the alarm
Then he rushed back to save the books ana papers.
That was the last seen of him. He was sixty years
old, and lived with his daughter.
At the fire yesterday John Anderson. eight years
Old. received wound IN the face from cep that
new OIL an engine when the hose Was about to be